Creating a GPU hierarchy can be a daunting task, but it isn’t impossible. With so much variety in the world of graphics cards, the best thing we can do is sort them into different categories.
We also decided to organize the cards within tiers themselves, so these groupings are undoubtedly open to debate.
To avoid overcrowding, only cards in the most recent two generations from AMD and NVIDIA will be considered, as well as the brand new Ampere and RDNA cards.
Let’s begin with the list!
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S Tier
Compared to the rest of the GPUs on the market, cards in this tier are considered more appropriate for enthusiasts who want to play at 4K resolution, with at least 60 FPS, with the RTX 3090 offering 8K (only with DLSS in specific games).
There are also professional graphics cards out there, but these are typically not used for gaming as much as intricate AI research or software development, such as the NVIDIA Titan RTX and the NVIDIA Titan V.
The power balance in this category shifted a bit with the launch of AMD’s RDNA 2 graphics cards. NVIDIA has been the unrivaled leader for the past ten years, but now it appears that AMD is returning to vie for the top spot.
For the first time in years, NVIDIA’s enthusiast-class card faced some rivalry from AMD. In fact, even its flagship GPU faced competition, but the flagships are a notch below the contention for a top spot.
Even with AMD’s earnest attempt at conquering the GPU throne, Nvidia still held it with the RTX 3090 and then took over with the RTX 3090 Ti.
Still, the RX 6900 XT has proven itself to be a great card and takes second place by a small margin ahead of the RTX 3080 Ti. Right behind it, we see the RTX 3080 and RX 6800 XT.
However, with the new RX 6950 XT, AMD ultimately claimed that gaming throne. But only at 1080p resolution. Anything above that and NVIDIA seizes control.
| Model | Manufacturer | |
| 1. | RX 6950 XT | AMD |
| 2. | RTX 3090 Ti | NVIDIA |
| 3. | RTX 3090 | NVIDIA |
| 4. | RX 6900 XT | AMD |
| 5. | RTX 3080 Ti | NVIDIA |
| 6. | RTX 3080 | NVIDIA |
| 7. | RX 6800 XT | AMD |
| 8. | Titan RTX | NVIDIA |
A Tier
Cards in this tier offer fairly respectable performance at a much more reasonable price, though they are understandably not as potent as those in the tier above.
Although these cards can provide steady 60 FPS gaming at 4K resolution, this is unlikely to be the case with extreme settings. At the top, we have the RX 6800, RTX 3070 Ti, RX 6750 XT, and then the RTX 3070.
Despite the latter GPU having a somewhat more affordable price, the RX 6800 is still a superior graphics card. Both outperform the previous generation’s leading card, the RTX 2080 Ti, by a solid margin.
The once-coveted RTX 2080 Ti still outperforms NVIDIA’s newest budget card, the RTX 3060 Ti, but that was to be anticipated, given their respective positions on the market.
From this point, the performance gaps are more gradual but still noticeable. Here we have the RTX 2080 Super, a short distance ahead of the RTX 2070 Super and its base version. From NVIDIA’s Pascal architecture, we have the Titan Xp as the top representative, as well as the Titan X and GTX 1080 Ti.
This is where AMD’s last-generation cards are also able to compete, the RX 5700 XT and Radeon VII.
The reason why we have ranked the RX 5700 XT above the Radeon VII is because of its RDNA architecture, although the Radeon VII certainly presents a compelling case with its 16 GB of HBM2 memory.
This is also where you will find the non-Ti RTX 3060 and AMD’s revitalized RDNA 2 GPU, the RX 6650 XT.
As those two AMD cards occupy places here, it would be unfair to leave out the RTX 2070.
| Model | Manufacturer | |
| 1. | RX 6800 | AMD |
| 2. | RTX 3070 Ti | NVIDIA |
| 3. | RX 6750 XT | AMD |
| 4. | RTX 3070 | NVIDIA |
| 5. | RTX 2080 Ti | NVIDIA |
| 6. | RX 6700 XT | AMD |
| 7. | RTX 3060 Ti | NVIDIA |
| 8. | RTX 2080 Super | NVIDIA |
| 9. | RTX 2080 | NVIDIA |
| 10. | Titan XP | NVIDIA |
| 11. | Titan X | NVIDIA |
| 12. | RTX 2070 Super | NVIDIA |
| 13. | GTX 1080 Ti | NVIDIA |
| 14. | Radeon VII | AMD |
| 15 | RX 6650 XT | AMD |
| 16. | RX 5700 XT | AMD |
| 17. | RX 6600 XT | AMD |
| 18. | RTX 3060 | NVIDIA |
| 19. | RX 5700 | AMD |
| 20. | RTX 2070 | NVIDIA |
B Tier
‘B’ does not stand for ‘bad’ or ‘budget’. In fact, these are perfectly serviceable cards that will provide you with a reliable performance for budget-friendly builds. One thing that should also be carefully considered is that this is the lowest tier where we will see cards that support real-time raytracing in the GPU hierarchy.
The king of this tier is the AMD RX 5700 because of its advantageous price point and one of the best cost-effective GPUs out there. Right next to it, we have the RX Vega 64 and the RX 5600 XT.
As you can see below, this tier consists predominantly of AMD cards with some less potent GPUs from NVIDIA, such as the RTX 2060, the GTX 1080, and the GTX 1070 Ti.
This is the final level where you can readily enjoy 144 FPS gaming without compromising on visual quality, as long as you have an appropriate screen to back it up.
| Model | Manufacturer | |
| 1. | RTX 2060 Super | NVIDIA |
| 2. | RX 6600 | AMD |
| 3. | RX Vega 64 | AMD |
| 4. | RX 5600 XT | AMD |
| 5. | RTX 2060 | NVIDIA |
| 6. | GTX 1080 | NVIDIA |
| 7. | RX Vega 56 | AMD |
| 8. | GTX 1070 Ti | NVIDIA |
C Tier
In this tier, we’re at half the cost of the RTX 2080 Ti, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t play with these affordable cards.
They might not be able to pull off 1440p, but 1080p and 60 FPS at enhanced settings might be plenty for you, depending on your preferences. Unfortunately, this won’t be possible on some of the most demanding games. Lowering the settings further may be necessary for 60 FPS gaming.
Here’s where NVIDIA again reigns supreme, with exceptional GPUs, including the GTX 1660 Ti and GTX 1660 Super, followed closely by the GTX 1070 and GTX 1660. AMD didn’t go missing here, although their performance in this tier is subpar with their representative RX 5500 XT, both the 4GB and 8GB version, falling short of NVIDIA.
The GTX 1650 Super is between two RX 5500 XT versions. The GTX 1060 6GB is in the average tier.
| Model | Manufacturer | |
| 1. | GTX 1660 Ti | NVIDIA |
| 2. | GTX 1660 Super | NVIDIA |
| 3. | GTX 1070 | NVIDIA |
| 4. | GTX 1660 | NVIDIA |
| 5. | RX 5500 XT 8GB | AND |
| 6. | GTX 1650 Super | NVIDIA |
| 7. | RX 5500 XT 4GB | AMD |
| 8. | GTX 1060 6GB | NVIDIA |
D Tier
Budget cards belonging to this tier are at the bottom of the list for a reason. That being said, you can still obtain a satisfactory performance with these GPUs. Even if you’re on a tight budget, there can still be a hierarchy to help you make an informed, individual decision.
Unlike in the other tiers, here, the top pick does not have a convincing case to be in the tier above. The top of the D tier is the GTX 1650, closely followed by the GTX 1060 3GB. Due to the previously imposed restrictions, the only other members of this tier are the GTX 1050 Ti and GTX 1050.
| Model | Manufacturer | |
| 1. | GTX 1650 | NVIDIA |
| 2. | GTX 1060 3GB | NVIDIA |
| 3. | GTX 1050 Ti | NVIDIA |
| 4. | GTX 1050 | NVIDIA |
Final Words On The GPU Hierarchy
Although there are some other cards that could perform on the same level as the cards from our GPU hierarchy, they were excluded for a reason. As mentioned before, only the two most current generations of AMD and NVIDIA GPUs were included. This means you won’t find cards older than the 5th generation GCN and Pascal.
This hierarchy was based on external sources for performance comparisons, such as Tom’s Hardware and the 3DMark Time Spy graphics test.
Furthermore, this list is set for some shuffling, as both AMD’s and NVIDIA’s latest GPU architectures, RDNA 2 and Ampere, are hitting the stores.
